An internet protocol video delivery network based on adaptive streaming techniques can provide many advantages over traditional cable delivery systems, such as greater flexibility, reliability, lower integration costs, new services, and new features. However, with the evolution of internet protocol video delivery networks comes a modified architecture for the adaptive bit rate delivery of multimedia content to subscribers. For example, traditional cable operators using legacy delivery networks (e.g., Quadrature Amplitude Modulation based) are trading or supplementing the use of digital controllers, switched digital video systems, video on demand pumps, and edge Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) devices with smarter encoders, a content delivery network, and cable modem termination systems (CMTS).
Solutions for averting advertisement skipping developed for traditional cable distribution networks and architectures are not suitable for, or have deficiencies when, deployed in the internet protocol video delivery network architectures modified for adaptive bit rate streaming. Advertisement revenue is often critical to the financial viability of an enterprise that distributes multimedia. Thus, as network operators proceed with the development and rollout of internet protocol delivery systems and architectures using adaptive bit rate techniques, effective solutions for ad skipping are desirable.
It is noted that while the accompanying FIGS. serve to illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments, the concepts displayed are not necessary to understand the embodiments of the present invention, as the details depicted in the FIGS. would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.